Special Projects

Marina Piccinini relishes tradition with a twist. Her wide-ranging background and numerous interests have led her to explore traditional repertoire in new settings, and to delve into collaborations with various artists and disciplines.

Paganini

When the notoriously secretive violin virtuoso Niccolò Paganini finally published his fiendishly difficult 24 Caprices (Capricci) in 1820, he surprised the world with the dedication: “Alli Artisti” (“To the Artists”). For nearly two centuries since then, not just violinists, but masters of other musical instruments have taken Paganini at his word, undertaking the challenge of appropriating exercises conceived to expand the technical range of the violin, extracting their musical essence and refracting it through their own instrumental prisms.

Piccinini's new arrangements of the Caprices remain true to Paganini's uncompromising artistic vision and showcase an array of challenging techniques that idiomatically exploit the unique tone and expressive range of the flute.

“I was drawn to the Capricci as a challenge and stimulus for my own development,” she says, “pushing the envelope outside my personal comfort zone. What I discovered and fell in love with was a musical voice that demanded great emotional expression through technical perfection.

“However,” she continues, “I wanted to avoid viewing the Capricci as mere technical challenges, but rather as inspired miniatures of extraordinary musical intensity. I was particularly struck by the expressive range of this music, especially Paganini’s mystic, dark side and his haunting, introspective, tender vulnerability. Contrary to popular belief, this is the music of a man who clearly did not see himself as invulnerable.”

Bach

Marina Piccinini presents unique transcriptions of Bach’s evergreen Flute Sonatas. Eschewing the typical piano or harpsichord accompaniment, Marina recorded these works as never before with a pair of guitars, and continues to present these live in concerts- the next series of Al-Bach recitals take place in the Spring 2017 with the Beijing Guitar Duo